The new Star Wars TV series The Mandalorian is coming to the Disney+ streaming service, which launches sometime later this year. It boasts an impressive list of directors, including Dave Filoni (Star Wars Rebels), Deborah Chow (Jessica Jones), Rick Famuyiwa (Dope), and Bryce Dallas Howard (Solemates). Another name that’s taking the reins for an episode is Taika Waititi, who previously helmed Thor: Ragnarok.
Appearing at the Television Critics Association press tour, Waititi shared some details about the “amazing” experience of getting to help craft his own little corner of the Star Wars franchise. “[Executive producer Jon] Favreau’s a genius and so smart and so good at what he does and creating these worlds,” he revealed during a post-panel group interview. “The scripts are really great. And yeah, it was really fun doing something in the Star Wars universe. It’s every kid’s dream just to see a Stormtrooper. When you’re doing these scenes with like 50 or 60 of them, it’s pretty amazing.”
He was also excited to direct a story involving bounty hunters like Boba Fett. “For most kids growing up with those films, he was one of the most favorite characters, even though he was barely in the films,” the director said. “Bounty hunters, the helmets are so cool. So yeah, I mean just getting to see characters like that and getting to shoot with them was pretty cool.”
And if you’re wondering whether Waititi was able to inject any of his signature style into this new Star Wars property, the good news is there was room for “a little bit” of that.
“You know that Star Wars, you know, is just very different to the Marvel style,” he explained. “They know that whatever was set up in the tone of the first films really should be kind of adhered to and that’s what the fans like and you can’t really disrespect it, I guess, is a nice way of saying it. Can’t have too many jokes, but there’s a little bit. Definitely my tone is in there, with the dialogue and stuff like that.”
While he was able to put a bit of himself into the new Star Wars series, there’s one other high-profile project he’s not going to be involved in. Waititi revealed he will definitely not be directing Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3., though he definitely sees a future with Marvel Studios.
Comic book writer Brian Michael Bendis claims the Kitty Pryde Spinoff X-Men film is still in development.
Revealed through Twitter in response to a fan question about the status of the film in the midst of the Disney/Fox merger, Bendis says that he is currently working on the film.
Yeah, I’m working on it right now. It’s vvvvvvvery surreal and delightful to be so deep inside the X mansion and the fortress of solitude at the same time https://t.co/trsQtX4rS9
Apex Legends is set within the Titanfall universe and takes place 30 years after Titanfall 2, but is not a sequel. The game focuses around the area known as the Outlands, with characters who compete against one another in what would be looked at as a true battle royale environment.
“Nope. No, not doing that movie,” Waititi told reporters during the Television Critics Association winter press tour, where he’s promoting FX’s small-screen adaptation of What We Do in the Shadows. “For me, that’s James’ film… Going into something like that, which has got his stamp all over it, would feel like going into someone’s house and going, ‘Hey, I’m your new dad…’ It feels kind of awkward.”
Netflix’s latest original series, Umbrella Academy, has finally arrived, bringing with it buckets of trippy, surrealist superhero hijinks. But the world of the Academy is actually more than just a bizarre 10 episode series to be binged from your living room–it’s actually a cult classic superhero comic from Gerard Way (yes, as in the guy from My Chemical Romance) and artist Gabriel Ba.
Sure, it may not possess the weight of history that something like the Marvel Cinematic Universe has behind it, but the world of Umbrella Academy is actually expansive (and completely bizarre), making it a worthy read for anyone who might be interested in jumping into the new show. So what exactly is Umbrella Academy, how do you read it, and what does it all mean?
We’re here to break it down for you, piece by abstract piece.
Umbrella Academy got its start back in 2007 with the release of its first six issue limited series titled Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite at Dark Horse Comics, and it set the groundwork for the ongoing universe. It established the basic premise: one day, 43 women around the world with no signs of pregnancy gave birth simultaneously to infants that showed various superhuman abilities. Seven of the kids were adopted by an eccentric billionaire adventurer named Sir Reginald Hargreeves, who created–wait for it–The Umbrella Academy. There, he trained up his adopted children to be a superhero team.
If you think things are already starting to sound a bit weird, you haven’t seen anything yet.
By and large, the kids experienced an exceedingly dysfunctional childhood, with their father all but disinterested in anything but their powers, a robot facsimile of a mother, and a genetically modified chimp named Pogo as their primary caretakers. The kids’ day to day life revolved around training to use their powers and various feats of public superheroics against any number of strange and potentially cosmic threats. And by “strange,” we mean, really, really weird–the first thing the kids are shown fighting is an animated Eiffel Tower (which turns out to be a space ship) puppeteered by “zombie robot Gustave Eiffel”.
That basically establishes the tone of the entire series. It includes most of the same tropes and set dressing as your standard superheroic faire, but it’s shown through the lense of the hyper surreal–half tongue-in-cheek self aware, half pedal-to-the-metal buckwild just for the hell of it.
The kids themselves are suitably eclectic. Each member of the Hargreeves family-slash-team was assigned a number, a code name, and a civilian name. Number 1, Spaceboy, Luthor Hargreeves, is super strong. Number 2, The Kraken, Diego Hargreeves, can hold his breath forever and throw knives with deadly accuracy. Number 3, The Rumor, Allison Hargreeves, can tell lies that alter reality. Number 4, The Seance, Klaus Hargreeves, can contact the dead. Number 5, The Boy, has no civilian name and can teleport and time travel. Number 6, The Horror, Ben Hargreeves, can summon monsters of his skin–and is mysteriously dead. Number 7, The White Violin, Vanya Hargreeves, spent her childhood told she had no special gifts–which she soon learns may not have been true at all.
But the kids’ gifts and superheroic feats aren’t actually the focus of the story. The real narrative occupies a chunk of time far after the Academy has been formally dissolved, the kids have grown up, and their makeshift family has all but totally fallen apart. They’re pulled back together after the death of Hargreeves, which sets in motion a series of events leading to some very unwelcome secrets coming to light. Imagine something like Wes Anderson’s The Royal Tenenbaums, but give each character an incredibly specific superpower, and toss in a talking chimpanzee for good measure.
Following The Apocalypse Suite, Umbrella Academy continued to expand its story by adding two more limited series to the line-up. The first, Umbrella Academy: Dallas, began publication in 2009 and dealt with a truly mind-bending level of time travel and alternate history (the JFK assassination, the Vietnam war, really, you name it.) The second, Umbrella Academy: Hotel Oblivion, was originally set for release in the early 2010s, but experienced a number of major delays–it finally saw publication in 2018, just in time to drum up some more awareness for the Netflix show.
In between each major series, Way and Ba would publish various short stories focusing on major cast members and moments to flesh out more of the lore. These short stories were collected up in the trade paperback editions of each volume–though they’re not strictly necessary to understand the actual plot.
The Netflix show itself is mostly a blend of both Apocalypse Suite and Dallas, with a healthy amount of remixing and reinventing–after all, there are some things you can pull off on paper that just wouldn’t work on a tv show. Zombie robot Gustave Eiffel, for example, doesn’t really translate. But don’t worry–Pogo, the talking chimpanzee, definitely does.
All ten episodes of The Umbrella Academy launch on Netflix February 15, while all three volumes of The Umbrella Academy are available everywhere comics are sold. You can jump into one without the other, but really for something this delightfully weird, why would you want to?
A great premise can generally only take you so far, but films that stick to them and don’t get distracted can sometimes in turn achieve greatness. Blumhouse’s Sweetheart takes the conventional and familiar survival story and turns it on its head with a tale of self-discovery, empowerment, and monster-fighting in what can best be described as Cast Away meets Cloverfield.
Jenn (Kiersey Clemons) wakes up one day and finds herself on an isolated island in the middle of the ocean. She’s shipwrecked, and her only companion has a chunk of coral jutting from his stomach. Without wasting a second, Jenn pulls her friend from the water, yanks the coral, and stops the bleeding with a makeshift bandage. Sadly, it’s too late, as her companion dies that night–and that’s when the problems begin.
For the first half hour, Sweetheart focuses on your standard castaway story, with Jenn finding water, refuge, and food. Director JD Dillard (Sleight) makes his return to Sundance and Blumhouse stand out with a keen eye for performance and emotion, despite relying almost entirely on Clemons’ mostly mute performance. Indeed, in a refreshing move, Jenn doesn’t get a volleyball to talk to, so there’s no thinking out loud for most of the film, and instead she conveys all emotion and information through exquisitely nuanced yet powerful facial expressions that say more than a dozen monologues. To compensate for the lack of dialogue (and the score, which is also very minimalistic), the movie’s outstanding sound design does most of the work.
Jenn is also not your typical shipwreck survivor. She is one of the smartest and most composed castaways we’ve seen onscreen in years. As she follows the usual procedure for fictional island survivors, you can tell Jenn is familiar with every story and film about island survival there is, and she adapts to every situation without breaking a sweat. Before you notice she’s already learned how to use small fish as bait to catch bigger fish, and how to build a makeshift spear to hunt. It doesn’t come across as overpowered or exaggerated, and it’s all thanks to Clemons’ performance ,which sells you on her problems but also on her way of thinking and excitement as she figures things out.
Of course, this being Blumhouse and JD Dillard, everything is not as it seems, and the island has plenty of dark secrets. As Jenn tries to stay alive she starts seeing mutilated fish wash up on shore, and her friend’s body suddenly disappears from its grave overnight. Then there’s also that huge sinkhole in the bottom of the ocean.
Sweetheart eventually becomes one of the best creature features in recent years. Dillard and his cinematographer Stefan Duscio use lighting to build a sense of menace and fear of the unknown. The movie is dark, but never without purpose. We are stuck with the same knowledge and visibility as Jenn, and as she runs away we catch only glimpses of whatever pursues her. The production design and VFX team deserve credit for their fantastic work.
Even when the film deviates from its sweet and short premise, it expands the world of the film and provides subtle but important background for Jenn, even though they don’t feel necessary. As she finally gets to speak with someone, we get hints at other monsters and abuse she has already faced before. It’s a great way to address how hard it can be for women to speak up about abuses they’ve suffered, without being too on the nose or deviating too much.
With a brisk and concise runtime of 82 minutes, Sweetheart accomplishes a lot without wasting a moment. Its brilliant lead performance carries much of the film, with beautiful visuals that descent into a thrilling and heart-stopping creature feature.
Ever since James Gunn was fired from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have been wondering just who will take over the director’s chair. After the smashing success of Thor: Ragnarok, many have seen Taika Watiti as the “go to” director for Marvel’s next cosmic installment.
However, Waititi was firm that he will not be involved in the third Guardians movie. “I’m not doing that movie, but I’m hanging out with them,” Waititi explained during the What We Do In Shadows panel of the Television Critics Association press tour. “I’m still hanging out with those guys and talking about new stuff. What might be yet, but yeah, I want to do another [Marvel] movie.”
As for why Waititi won’t take over for the next Guardians installment, it’s all out of respect for Gunn’s previous work. “For me, that’s James’s,” Waititi continued. “Those are James’s films. Going into something like that which has got his stamp all over it would feel like going in someone’s house and going, ‘Hey! I’m your new dad, and this is how we make peanut butter sandwiches now!’ It just feels kind of awkward. I just wouldn’t know how to follow up those two films because those are his babies.”
During the summer of 2018, Gunn was fired by Disney from GotG Vol. 3 after old tweets from the director resurfaced. These were jokes about topics like pedophilia and rape, and Disney wanted to distance themselves from him.
The controversy didn’t end there, however, as the cast wrote a joint letter standing behind Gunn, in hopes he would be rehired. It never happened, though, and Gunn is currently writing the script for the Suicide Squad reboot at Warner Bros. and is in negotiations to direct.
As for Waititi, he’s currently directing the upcoming Star Wars series The Mandalorian, and in post-production for the FX series What We Do In Shadows–based on the mockumentary of the same name–which comes to the network on March 27.
There is a gory moment in the third act of “Down” when the filmmakers abandon all pretense and restraint, spraying the screen with a fountain of blood. In that moment, the movie shows its hand; I turned my brain off and enjoyed the remainder of “Down” as a pulpy diversion. But as fun as “Down” was–and it was fun, to be clear–it was also disappointing. The first half of this film promised something better, more complex, and more discussion-worthy than what we ended up getting.
The film opens with a woman named Jennifer (Natalie Martinez) and a man named Guy (Matt Lauria) working late on a Friday night. They’re headed down to the parking lot of their office building when the elevator suddenly stalls, four floors underground. Their cell phones don’t work. Despite their best efforts to set off the alarm or call for help, they’re trapped in this enclosed space for the 3-day weekend. So, they slowly get to know each other.
This extended sequence, where it’s just the two main characters bantering back and forth, is the film’s high point and the right mixture of clever and flirtatious. There’s an old-fashioned, theatrical rhythm to it.. And even when the dialogue is a bit too cute, Martinez and Lauria deliver it naturally. We believe these two could have a mutual attraction, even under these odd circumstances. Framed differently, the premise could easily fuel a Howard Hawks screwball comedy instead of a horror film.
But this isn’t a Hawks film. And quite suddenly–in the space of a minute, if that–the premise takes a weird, dark turn. There’s a shocking reveal that changes everything we’ve learned thus far. It presents great potential to explore abusive relationships, gender dynamics, consent, and how sex is leveraged and exploited for power and control–all in the context of the horror genre. But the film, despite alluding to these themes, falls short of addressing them in any meaningful way.
Instead, the film rapidly shifts from being a talky, dialogue-driven film to an action-driven cat-and-mouse slasher in no time at all. Both characters make dumb, illogical decisions–necessary only to advance The Plot–and betray their prior cleverness and wit.
There is a way to build horror and tension through talking, facial expressions, and nuance. But “Down” isn’t concerned with ambiguity or complexity after revealing its central twist. If you like your horror movies to end with a big fight, cheeky humor, and a triumphant hero, you’ll get all that. But what a waste, that such a rich premise ends so conventionally.
“Down” is produced by Blumhouse, the production company behind blockbuster hits like “Paranormal Activity,” Happy Death Day,” “Get Out,” and “Sinister.” The company’s ethos is simple: bankroll low-budget horror films and allow the filmmakers a corresponding level of artistic freedom.
Into The Dark, the film anthology series that “Down” belongs to, is Blumhouse’s attempt to replicate their big screen success on Hulu. They’re producing 12 low-budget horror films, each based on a holiday, and releasing them one month apart from each other. October’s film was “The Body,” based around Halloween. Next was November’s “Flesh and Blood,” based around Thanksgiving. December’s film was Pooka!” based around Christmas. Then came January’s “New Year, New You,” based around New Year’s Day. And now, we have February’s “Down,” based around Valentine’s Day.
Here’s the problem: none of the Into The Dark films are of theatrical release quality. They’re made-for-TV movies; they get good reviews by the mere act of being interesting. So on one hand, it feels unfair to judge these films against something they’re not; perhaps, if they were good enough to be theatrical releases, they would have been.
But in today’s entertainment landscape, multi-million dollar blockbusters debut on digital platforms and bypass the theater entirely on a regular basis. As an audience, we have been conditioned to expect more on streaming platforms.
Small films must deliver better quality than what their budgets would imply. “Down,” for better and for worse, delivers precisely what you would expect. Enjoy it on that level, and you won’t be disappointed.
The Good
The Bad
Fun dialogue
Strange editing choices
Shocking twist
Becomes conventional in its second half
Excellent performances from both lead actors
Gore feels jarring and out of place
The setting provokes great tension and claustrophobia
While a recent series of leaks took some of the luster off of the news, Titanfall developer Respawn Entertainment has both announced and launched a brand-new game that’s out now on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Apex Legends is a free-to-play battle royale title that features elements of Overwatch, among other games, and utilizes a class-based setup. And, as you’d expect, there are skins to collect.
Despite being a free-to-play game, there are of course still ways to spend money. We’ve already detailed how Apex Legends’ monetization works, but it boils down to customization. Alongside a battle pass, you can buy cosmetics that don’t impact gameplay; there are skins, poses, and banners to help distinguish your in-game look. Among the most desirable items are sure to be the Legendary skins you can collect.
There are a ton of skins in Apex Legends already, and below we’ve rounded up the Legendary ones to give you a sense for how varied your appearance can be. Each of the game’s eight characters has their own; six of those characters are available right out of the gate, with the other two needing to be unlocked.
Despite coming from Respawn and featuring a variety of elements from Titanfall–it takes place decades after Titanfall 2–you won’t see certain signature features from the series, such as Titans or wallrunning. Apex Legends pits 20 teams of three against each other and introduces some other wrinkles, such as a way to revive teammates by undertaking a risky process. You can read about what we thought in our hands-on impressions of Apex Legends.
